Is My Betta Dying?

[aDcOoL]

Alrighty.

It's been a couple days since I posted here, but I seem to have yet another problem.

I think I'm overfeeding my betta. His "chin" is getting very big and fat, and is starting to turn white.

I was told to feed my betta 4 tablets in the morning, and 4 at night, and that's what I've been doing.

Any suggestions?

 

[aDcOoL]

bump...

 

[SPLiSH]

I think you mean his belly, not chin... it is suprosingly far foward, and yes, it becomes fat and rounded when a fish has eaten. But too fat and you are overfeeding.

How big are the pellets? If they are the ones that are about this big: o , then eight a day is too much. My pellets are that size and I find that four a day (two in the morning and two in the evening) works well.

When you say his belly is turning white, is it fluffy or raised looking?

 

[black angel]

He could be constipated. Have you seen him poo recently? if so is it short and dark?
Maybe starve him for 3 days and then try live foods such as daphnia or freeze dried. It may be he has picked up a bacterial infection along the way so make sure the temperature is a steady 80f

 

[aDcOoL]

Havent ever really watched him poo...but I just bought him dried bloodworms, so I won't feed him for 3 days.

I've also noticed his whole face is turning white. The rest of his body looks fine...I'll post a pic tomorrow.

I'll do a 50% waterchange tomorrow also.

Thanks.

 

[SPLiSH]

When you say his face is turning white, is it fluffy or looking like it has sand or salt grains on it? This could be serious fungus or ich, both of which can be deadly.

 

[Kris]

Two things:
The changing colors could be a sign of stress.
The constant falling to the side MIGHT be a sign that the push of the current is too strong. I say this because one of my bettas, Blue, is in a 2.5 gallon tank and I recently changed from an internal Whisper filter to a HOB nano filter. The output of water caused Blue to look as if he was being pushed to the gravel and his colors faded on and off as well. I used the soda bottle trick to break the current and Blue's been fine ever since.

Here's to hoping that this is your issue.. Keep us updated.

 

[aDcOoL]

Hello.

Last night when I looked at Spuddy, I couldn't really tell what his head was like because he kept swimming into the fake plants and I couldn't see his face that much, but today, his head doesn't seem really that gray or white anymore...maybe it was just the lighting? I don't know.

I'm still concerned that he's falling onto his tail and leaning on his side still. I'm pretty sure that it's not the current because he did the same thing before I bought his tank and he was in a bowl with no filter or current.

Here are some pictures I took this morning...he isn't actually as white as he looks in the pictures...I just brightened the pics up with Photoshop so you can see him a little bit better.
(Click on the each link to see each picture)

http/a.1asphost.com/aDcOoL/Spuddy/DCP_1507.JPG
http/a.1asphost.com/aDcOoL/Spuddy/DCP_1508.JPG
http/a.1asphost.com/aDcOoL/Spuddy/DCP_1510.JPG
http/a.1asphost.com/aDcOoL/Spuddy/DCP_1511.JPG
http/a.1asphost.com/aDcOoL/Spuddy/DCP_1513.JPG
http/a.1asphost.com/aDcOoL/Spuddy/DCP_1515.JPG
http/a.1asphost.com/aDcOoL/Spuddy/DCP_1516.JPG

I'm planning on doing a water change today, but I have a few questions.

When moving him into a bowl, and then putting new water in the tank, how should I go about keeping the tank water the same temperature? If I dump the water in, and then keep the heater on, do you think everything would return to the right temperature after about an hour? Is it okay to leave him in an un-heated bowl for the hour while I wait for the tank to heat up?

Also, when adding Aqua salt, do I put the amount required for 5 gallons (the size of the tank), or 2.5 gallons since I'm only replacing half of the water?

Last thing: How should I go about getting rid of the poop sitting on the bottom of the tank? Should I just stick my hand right in and grab it, or is there a better way?


Sorry for all the questions...I just don't want to do anything wrong...

 

[MJM966]

The bowl is fairly large (you can see it in the picture below)

I usually do 1 water change a week.

I have a green scooper thing with a net on it and I scoop out my betta and put him in a large bowl with water that is the same temperature as his normal bowl's water. I then dump all of my betta's bowl's water into the sink, clean the bowl and the rocks, and then dry the bowl and the rocks, dump some new water into the bowl, and dump my betta back in. All water used is bottled water... it's "Real Canadian Natural Spring Water" if that matters.
I read somewhere that you're supposed to only change 25% of the water, but I don't see the point because the "dirt" or whatever will just mix in with the new water that you put in anyway, but maybe I'm wrong.

I don't see any fungus or anything on his body, though I don't really know what to look for since this is my first fish. His fins seem to be normal, and for the few seconds that he does move around he flares a bit.

Here are two pictures...the first one shows him in his bowl, and the second is a close up of him.
Sorry they're so blurry...It's hard with a 2.2 megapixel camera.

http/a.1asphost.com/aDcOoL/Bowl.png
http/a.1asphost.com/aDcOoL/closeup.png

Most people have given you advice about the size of your bowl. I cannot access the pictures, but am concerned about your cleaning routine and water stats.

You are giving him 3 different types of water to sit in in a very short time. His tank water, the new bowl of water, then fresh water from the bottle. Very stressful.

Why don't you leave him in his bowl and do more frequent but smaller changes and use a gravel hose- vaccuuming/ stirring the bottom of the bowl ?

Do you add a water treatment to your water? I don't use bottled water, just stand it for 24hours (to get rid of chlorine) then add Tetra Aqua or similar.

Do you check the water chemistry of your bowl? Nitrate? Nitirite? Ammonia and pH? This is vital for good fish health.

What are you washing the bowl and rocks in? These surfaces are covered in the 'good' bacteria which maintain the biological balance in your bowl- destroying ammonia and nitrite. If you use ordinary tap water then you will destroy them. 100% water changes will also affect the nitrogen cycle in your bowl. Look that up under 'search' if you need to.

If you must wash rocks ( I wouldn't), use the water that you've just taken out. It won't be that dirty, plus it has beneficial bacteria in it.

PS. I've also just read some of the symptoms you've described eg. tail down. This may be swim bladder- brought on by poor water quality. Also fungus can be brought on by scale damage eg. too much handling. I've used esHA 2000 successfully for the fungus. I've not been successfull in treating swim bladder. However, improvements can occur when the water quality is better. Check your stats!

 

[aDcOoL]

Whoa...thanks for your reply, but why are you replying to a question I asked over a week ago?

Right now he's only been sitting in 1 type of water...and when I do waterchanges I'm going to take some of the water out of the tank that he's already in for him to sit in while I clean everything.

I don't use those rocks anymore...I have gravel on the bottom of the tank...

Right now I've been using tap water, plus that stuff that you pour in to make it good for fish, and aqua salt.

I'm not really willing to move him back into his bowl when I just paid over 50 bucks for a tank.

Thank you.

 

[MJM966]

Whoa...thanks for your reply, but why are you replying to a question I asked over a week ago?

Right now he's only been sitting in 1 type of water...and when I do waterchanges I'm going to take some of the water out of the tank that he's already in for him to sit in while I clean everything.

I don't use those rocks anymore...I have gravel on the bottom of the tank...

Right now I've been using tap water, plus that stuff that you pour in to make it good for fish, and aqua salt.

I'm not really willing to move him back into his bowl when I just paid over 50 bucks for a tank.

Thank you.

Just trying to help...

Skimmed the last few questions so missed the transfer from bowl to tank. Good.

Advice about keeping him in the tank while you clean still stands. Use a suction hose to vaccuum the gravel. Have the replacement water sitting in a clean container (only used for fish!) for 24hours until the chlorine goes and the water is at room temp. Treat with water conditioner.

Drain your 10% or 25% (depending on how often you clean out) dirty water/poo/waste food into another container using the hose. Then top up tank with the fresh water you've treated. If you've got the clean water up to room temp. beforehand then the change in tank temp will be minimal. If you're doing a big change without bring the water up to room temp. then you could chill him and make him ill.

May also have missed you talking about whether or not you check the water stats weekly. Hope this advice helps. Works for my tanks.

 

[aDcOoL]

I'm sorry if I came across as being mad at you...I'm not, and I appreciate your help.

I just find it very annoying how I received a betta fish for my Birthday...and now I'm spending over 100 bucks in a tank, food, plants, gravel, water treatments, bloodworms, aqua salt, and more, just to keep this fish alive.
I'm one of those people who just hates seeing something die...else Spuddy would probably still be living in a half a gallon bowl right now.

Anyway, now you're telling me to buy a suction hose...I really don't want to.

Is there a better way?

And I'm pretty sure if I let the new water sit, it will become room temperature, but I think it should be 80f like the tank that I will be pouring the water into...

Thanks for your help.

 

[Kame-San]

To do water changes: keep him in a small bowl or something while you do the water change. I usually kepp my bettas in a dark place while I do water changes, so their less likely to jump out. Turn the heater OFF when there is no water in the tank. If you don't, there's a chance the heater will blow, and you'll be without a heater...turining it off won't hurt it.

As for getting water the right temp, you could do as other people have suggested and use a bit of hot water with the rest being cold water. My tap water is still pretty warm though, so I haven't had to do this yet. It's already the normal temp of the tank (about). So, just use warm water to get the temp back up. If it gets too warm, use ice cubes to cool it off. Don't forget to add the de-chlor (stress stuff).

I just find it very annoying how I received a betta fish for my Birthday...and now I'm spending over 100 bucks in a tank, food, plants, gravel, water treatments, bloodworms, aqua salt, and more, just to keep this fish alive.

If you don't want the fish, there are PLENTY of people here to take it. And I'm sure people will pay for the tank and everything, so you can get your precious money back. Who gave you a fish for your birthday anyway? Do you have any cats, dogs, etc? $100 isn't NEARLY as much as me and some of the other people on this forum have spent on our fish, and we aren't complaining. If you don't want him, get rid of him. Give him to someone who cares.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

by suckion hose im thinking he means water siphon look on the DIY fourm and find out how to make your own for like no or little $$


i think he realy does care bout his fish if he didnt he wouldnt have bought all that stuff. i just think hes feed up with all he has to do and spend personally i can agree with him. i have no job and im still young so money is very hard to come by. sometimes it gets kind of frustrating.

 

[aDcOoL]

Thank you Discus.

To do water changes: keep him in a small bowl or something while you do the water change. I usually kepp my bettas in a dark place while I do water changes, so their less likely to jump out. Turn the heater OFF when there is no water in the tank. If you don't, there's a chance the heater will blow, and you'll be without a heater...turining it off won't hurt it.

As for getting water the right temp, you could do as other people have suggested and use a bit of hot water with the rest being cold water. My tap water is still pretty warm though, so I haven't had to do this yet. It's already the normal temp of the tank (about). So, just use warm water to get the temp back up. If it gets too warm, use ice cubes to cool it off. Don't forget to add the de-chlor (stress stuff).

Thank you very much.

If you don't want the fish, there are PLENTY of people here to take it. And I'm sure people will pay for the tank and everything, so you can get your precious money back. Who gave you a fish for your birthday anyway? Do you have any cats, dogs, etc? $100 isn't NEARLY as much as me and some of the other people on this forum have spent on our fish, and we aren't complaining. If you don't want him, get rid of him. Give him to someone who cares.

So you're saying that I don't care about my fish.

Yes, I have a dog, and yes, they cost a lot more, people don't usually just receive a dog as a surprise for a birthday and are expected to take care of it and spend lots of money on it.

You're not complaining because fish are your guys' hobbies. I'm just a normal everyday person that knew nothing about fish, and I got one as a surprise, and I came here for help and now I'm spending all of my money on it. It wasn't my decision to buy him, I got him as a "surprise".

I've been trying my best and buying a whole bunch of stuff to make this fish happy, and now you're telling me I don't care about him? If I didn't care about him I would have just said "meh" and let him die.

Oh well, that's it, I give up.